The first thing someone said to me today was "You look tired." Which basically means I looked terrible. This was probably because I stayed up too late trying to finish the book I was reading. I've done this a lot in my life, holding on to every bit of energy I can at 2:00 in the morning to find out what will happen next. It's exhilarating. But it's what comes immediately after that gives me that terrible morning-after look. The book is over. Whether you are content or mad at the author, smiling or crying, every book is the same. It ends. And then I have to stay up in bed for the next hour contemplating the life of the characters I might never hear from again.
I know this sounds depressing and I don't mean it to be that way. If it was that bad, I wouldn't read like a hundred books a year. Right now, though, I feel like one of the books of my own life is ending. A lot of people talk about the "chapters" of their lives, but I don't think my life is one big book. Rather, I think it is several books, a series if you will, with different settings, plots, and characters.
After high school, I started a new book. I closed that back cover and could never go back to reading it for the first time. I'm neither entirely glad that book is over and done with nor am I crying over the ending. Like with every book, I moved on, excited for the next one, but I can always go back and reread to refresh my memories or revisit characters of my past even years and years later.
This year, many of my friends graduate. I finish my last "real" classes and start actually teaching. I don't know where I'm going or where they're going. I'm very excited to start reading, but just like the book last night, I am at the moment that I must come to terms with an ending. I have met wonderful people in this book. I couldn't imagine a better cast of characters. Thank you to everyone who has made my last four years an incredible story.
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